Harry and John Potter : Year 3
by HellIsHere
Summary: As Harry and John continue their journey through Hogwarts towards adulthood, their first year as teenagers is interrupted as an old "friend" of their godfather Sirius makes a return... and he's not alone. However, they are not alone - their cousin Delilah and their best friends Ron and Hermione would never abandon them. (Reading the previous installments is highly recommended)
1. Chapter 1

On a hot, late August morning, Harry Potter woke up, seeing a spacious bedroom, with his own posters all over the place. He still wasn't used to living in a place he wanted to outside Hogwarts, despite it being almost two months since he had come here.

After brushing and showering, he walked over to the living room and kitchen, where he saw Sirius, seemingly doing some culinary experiments.

"Good morning Harry. Pancakes? Eggs?" asked Sirius, who was now trying to make a giant pancake out of six normal ones.

"Pancakes, definitely." said Harry, his stomach grumbling.

"Harry! You're just in time! Delilah found out that there's this movie called 'Jurassic Park' coming out today! Want to come with us? I can call Hermione and Ella, they'd probably want to come. Besides, we haven't seen any of them in ages, and Hermione just got back from France two days ago." said John.

"Dinosaurs in movies aren't normally a good idea..." said Harry, remembering the countless horrible dinosaur movies in Dudley's collection.

"Yeah, but Spielberg is behind this one, you remember Jaws!" said John, looking excited.

Harry looked at Sirius, who simply shrugged - he was raised a wizard, and despite the time he had spent in the muggle world, he didn't know a great deal about movies.

"Sirius said we can go, obviously, the cinema's just down the street, but do you want to come?" asked Delilah.

"Yeah, why not?" said Harry. It would be good to meet Hermione after so long, and try to get to know her younger sister Ella, who would be joining Hogwarts this year.

* * *

Harry, John and Delilah waited outside the cinema for Hermione and Delilah, but when they arrived, they were in for a surprise.

"Damn Hermione! France and puberty really agreed with you!" said John, looking Hermione up and down.

Harry, despite being much more quiet about things like this, had to agree. Hermione had tanned quite well, grown a few inches and started looking more woman-like. However, the first things that Harry's attention were drawn to (as with almost all young boys) was the fact that Hermione's chest... wasn't as developed as the rest of her body would suggest. In fact, it was still small, but there was a noticeable difference.

Hermione simply blushed at John's complement.

"Thanks. It was a really good holiday. But what about you John? You've grown a lot, how tall are you now?" she asked.

"Five foot nine. But that's not as important as the size of my arms." said John, smirking and flexing his muscles.

A few nearby girls stared at John's arms, pointing and giggling.

"See? I've already got fans." said John, walking over to the girls.

"Well now that the pig has gone, it's good to see you again Hermione, and you too Ella." said Delilah.

"Yeah, we haven't seen you in ages." said Harry.

"Well at least we've had contact over the summer this time." said Hermione, referring to how Dobby intercepted their letters last year.

"Have you heard from Ron recently? His dad's won seven hundred galleons, and they're going to Egypt to see Ron's oldest brother, Bill." said Harry.

"Yes I have, and I'm so jealous! The Ancient Egyptian wizards did amazing things! I bet he's learning loads!" said Hermione.

Although Delilah whole-heartedly agreed, Harry smirked. Learning was probably far away from Ron's mind on a holiday.

"Have you done all your homework?" asked Harry.

"Yes, although I hope I didn't overdo Professor Flitwick's work - my essay is two feet longer than he asked..." said Hermione.

"Two feet! How much stuff did you even find?" Harry asked.

"Everything I could, of course." said Hermione, as if this was obvious.

"Yeah, but I struggled to even make the minimum requirement!" said Harry.

"Come off it Harry, it wasn't _that_ hard!" said Delilah.

"Speak for yourself... what about McGonagall's?" asked Harry.

"Alright... I admit that one was rather challenging... but I managed it in the end." said Hermione.

"You two are too clever... I found that one nearly impossible! Although Mr. Transfiguration over there did it without even reading a single word out of a book." said Harry, motioning towards John, who looked like he was doing well with the girls.

"I just don't understand how he does it..." said Hermione.

"Are you... jealous of John's transfiguration?" asked Harry.

"No! I just want to know how it comes so easily to him, I have to work so hard at it, but he doesn't even have to try!" said Hermione.

"He's just naturally talented at it Hermione. Just like you are with Charms, Astronomy, Herbology and History of Magic. And by talented at History of Magic, I mean having some unnatural ability to stay awake in Binns' lessons." said Delilah, making Harry snigger.

"Alright, well the film's going to start soon, let's get John over here." said Hermione.

"John!" Harry said, waving his arms, motioning for John to come back.

"So, how did you do?" asked Harry, referring to the group of girls from earlier.

"About fifteen complements on my muscles, and three phone numbers." said John, smirking.

"Wow... I wish I could do that. Also, I wish we could carry phones around with us... imagine how much easier it would be." said Harry.

"Yeah, maybe one day we'll be able to do that." said John.

Hermione and Delilah weren't impressed with John's way with girls, but decided to just forget about it - it wasn't hurting anyone.

* * *

After the movie, however, even girls were far from John's mind (his mind was after all, blown by the movie).

"That was the single greatest movie I've seen in my entire life!" John shouted.

Hermione grimaced.

"I agree with you in saying it was good, but don't yell when you're standing so close to me!" she said, glaring at John.

"Sorry, but admit it - that was unbelievable!" John replied.

"Definitely, but I think you're overrating it just a bit. It was good, but I think Star Wars was better." said Harry Potter, thinking back to when Dudley used to watch movie after movie, while he, John and Delilah would be hiding behind the sofas, watching as well.

"Blasphemy!" John shouted at Harry.

"Again with the shouting?" Delilah pointed out, covering her ears.

"Well... I can't help it, the movie just blew me away! I've never seen special effects like that, and everything else was as good as it could possibly be!" said John.

"Well it's over now, shouldn't you just wait until it comes out on Video?" asked Ella.

"Yes I will! And I'm definitely inviting you over to watch it next time I'm back here in the muggle world." John said, smiling at Ella, who smiled back.

"John, no! She's my sister!" said Hermione.

"Er... Hermione? She's too young for me. Just because I'm talking to a girl, it doesn't mean I'm flirting with her. But you on the other hand..." John said, smirking and winking at Hermione, who rolled her eyes.

"Wrong sister I guess." she said under her breath.

"It doesn't matter Hermione, John wouldn't want to flirt with someone who hasn't hit puberty yet, and he's probably just joking with you." said Ella.

"I beg to differ! Hermione is very flirt-able. If that's even a word..." said John, smirking again.

Hermione face palmed.

"Anyway, Ella, what's Hermione told you about Hogwarts?" asked Harry.

"Not much, she wants most of it to be a surprise. But she did tell me to work as hard as I could and to always stay out of trouble." said Ella.

John and Harry grinned at each other, while Delilah wasn't looking forward to what they were about to say.

"Don't corrupt her guys..." said Delilah.

"Corrupt her! Never! We're only going to give Ella some advice..." said John.

"Yeah, I mean, she has to have _fun_ at Hogwarts, right?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, don't listen to those two girls. Basically, Hogwarts may be a school, but it's also a giant castle, with over two hundred acres of grounds, and its own lake. When you're not in lessons, either do your homework as early as you can or as late as you can, and spend all the time possible exploring and having fun. The castle itself is full of secret passageways and even the staircases move. You'll have a blast." said John.

"And also, the grounds are really scenic. You could do whatever you want on them in your free time. But most importantly in my opinion, make friends with your dorm-mates. You'll be with them for seven years - you don't want to room with people you don't like." said Harry.

"Yeah, and don't limit your friendship options in any way. Make friends with anyone who you want to. Except from Slytherins. Take it from me - they're all a bunch of arses." said John.

Hermione opened her mouth to argue, before realising that she hadn't met a friendly, non- bigoted Slytherin.

On the whole it contrasted Hermione's advice very strongly, but it provided a balance. Ella would hopefully be both happy and successful.

* * *

When everyone had got home, Sirius was watching the muggle news.

"The name of the escaped murderer has been released. If anyone sees or hears of Peter Pettigrew, they must call the police immediately. He is carrying a gun and will not hesitate to kill anyone if they get in his way, so do not confront him. Here is a picture of him, and he was last seen near Wattling street." said the news reporter.

No one said a word, and everyone there made eye contact, silently communicating the same thing.

They wanted to know what Pettigrew was planning.

"Wow... even the muggles know about it." John commented.

"Well he's that dangerous. Or desperate when afraid." said Sirius, gritting his teeth and glaring at the screen as if it were Pettigrew himself.

"Do you think he's going to try anything at Hogwarts?" asked Delilah.

"No. He's no doubt trying to stay far away from Death Eaters." said Sirius.

"Death Eaters? What are those?" asked Harry.

"Voldemort's followers. He was the one who led Voldemort to your parents' hiding place, and that's where he met his downfall, and I reckon the death eaters are all really angry at him right now. And obviously he has to evade the ministry as well." said Sirius.

"So he's not really much of a threat?" asked John.

"Not unless you happen to run into him." said Sirius.

"OK, so is it still likely that we'll get a normal year at Hogwarts?" asked Delilah.

"Normal-ish. Remember, this is still Hogwarts." said Sirius, smirking at them.

Feeling comforted, the three teens went back to watching the news.

* * *

Hermione, however wasn't as comforted as Harry, John or Delilah.

She rang them on the phone to voice her concerns.

"Hello?" John answered.

"Hello, is that John?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" asked John.

"Did you watch the news?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, but Sirius said not to worry. He said Pettigrew would spend all his time hiding - everyone wants to find him and do some harm to him in some way." said John.

"But what if he gets to Hogwarts? It's such a well protected school and a great place to hide!" Hermione said, her voice oozing fear.

"It would probably be a good place to hide if there weren't eight-hundred students and about sixty staff members..." said John, amused.

"John, this isn't funny! He's a murderer and he's the reason your parents are gone!" Hermione cried on the other end of the line.

John didn't reply - he hadn't thought about his parents' death properly in over a year.

Hermione realised her mistake.

"John... I'm sorry, I- I didn't mean to-" she began.

"Don't worry about it. In all seriousness, I really don't think Hogwarts is the place for him to go to." said John, sounding much more serious.

"But... he might try to... kill you and Harry." said Hermione.

"What reason does he have for that exactly?" asked John.

"You two are the reason that... You-Know-Who isn't in power right now. He probably knows about what you did in the Chamber of Secrets. Maybe he wants revenge." said Hermione.

"I didn't think about that... but then again if Voldemort is afraid of old Dumbles, I reckon Pettigrew wouldn't have the bollocks to try anything under his nose. I'm not worried about him." said John.

"Well... if you're sure about that, I'll let it go. I'll have to ask Harry about it though. By the way, are you going to the Leaky Cauldron any time soon? My family and I will be there during the last three days of summer, the same goes for the Weasleys." said Hermione.

"Yeah, I'm going there during the last two days, because Sirius is doing some Auror Ambassador work for a week or so. He'll be in America." said John.

"OK. I'll see you then. Bye John." said Hermione.

John hung up the phone, before telling Harry and Delilah about Hermione's concerns.

"Well I can see what you're saying, but I have to agree with Hermione. He is a Death Eater after all." said Harry.

"I think so too. They're probably really violent people if they follow Voldemort, so I think revenge will be on their mind. It should be safe enough going back to school, but you really have to be careful about what time you're out at. Especially when we're at Hogsmeade." said Delilah.

John frowned - he couldn't imagine that Pettigrew would have a chance at hiding in Hogwarts, but what Delilah said about Hogsmeade... it made sense.

John didn't know what to think at first, but decided to go with his initial instincts - the idea that there was nothing to worry about.

However, there was always going to be that niggling doubt in the back of his mind. It sounded remarkably like Hermione's voice, which was due to the fact that it was what she said that stuck in his mind. Revenge was certainly part of the job description of a follower of Voldemort, but surely he'd be safe with Dumbledore around... right?

* * *

Peter Pettigrew knew that he only had one choice. To rejoin his former master. He knew the steps which he should take - find his wand first, after which he would travel abroad as a rat. He knew that he was in Albania, but that was the extent of his knowledge of Voldemort's wherabouts.

He travelled to the house in Godric's Hollow where it all began, hoping to find the wand there. His heart was wracked with guilt when he saw a statue of his once best friend, James, the first to befriend him, and the first to stick up for him when he was bullied in his first year and James' beautiful wife Lily, who was always kinder to him at school than the other girls, who seemed repulsed by his very appearance.

If they were alive to see what he had become... but Peter couldn't think about that now. He had too save his master, who would surely reward him for an act of loyalty. When he finally won, Peter would be rewarded with a peaceful life, where he could properly think about the things he had done to his friends.

He had single-handedly torn the Marauders apart.

He always thought it would be Lily who did that, but... it was him. He began to remember how Lily caused James so much grief during their sixth year, when he had matured, and wondered how he himself had done more damage.

_"Guys... is there something genuinely wrong with me? I thought I did what she wanted..." said James._

_"No James. She's just going to take some time adjusting to the fact that you've matured." said Sirius._

_"But it's been seven months! Surely she'd notice by now!" James replied._

_"It's always hard to change first impressions, but I'm sure you can do it." Peter assured him._

_"Besides, Lily isn't unreasonable. She's sort of in disbelief over your sudden change. I talked to her during patrols last night, and she said that she's completely confused over your sudden emotional growth." said Remus._

_"Really?" asked James, lifting his head, looking more optimistic._

_"Definitely. Obviously she's acting like she always used to because she's worried that it's just an act, but it doesn't stop her from being impressed." said Remus._

_"So you're saying I have a chance... right?" asked James._

_"Of course Prongs!" said Peter._

_James smiled at his friends' support, and went back to hoping that Lily, the girl of his dreams would one day be with him._

Peter had to then shake away every last bit of guilt he harbored for what he had done to James and Lily, because The Dark Lord would surely reward him if he did his duty...

Whilst searching through the rubble of the blasted-away part of the old house, Peter managed to find the wand. Thirteen-and-a-half inches of yew, with the tail feather of a phoenix, just what he was looking for. Now all he had to do was take the wand and somehow get all the way to Albania.

He would make his peace with his old friends later...

**So this year is where things start getting darker and more serious... not to mention that these stories will now be MUCH longer. No doubt about that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I also hope you enjoy the rest of this story! Also, good luck to those of you just getting back to school!**


	2. The Long Road Home

As planned, Sirius headed off to America for the last few days of the Summer Holidays, and he had made plans with the Weasleys to take Harry, John and Delilah with them.

The three of them found Ron and Hermione whilst aimlessly walking around Diagon Alley, sitting outside Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour, after finishing their Hogwarts shopping.

Ron was looking frecklier than ever, and Hermione's tan showed no signs of fading.

Both of them were smiling and waving at Harry, John and Delilah.

"Hi! Man Ron, you got tall!" said John.

"Yeah, I reckon I'm about six feet now. But you got huge over the summer... have you been lifting weights?" asked Ron, pointing at John's arms.

"Not really, just eating loads of meat and keeping active." said John.

"Harry, you're as skinny as ever." said Ron, smirking at Harry.

"You're as lanky as ever." Harry shot back, before they clapped each other on the back.

Ron's attention then turned towards Delilah, who was smiling broadly at him.

John nudged Ron with his elbow and whispered in his ear.

"Say something about how she looks." he said.

"Delilah... The summer really agreed with you. You look great." said Ron.

"Thanks Ron. You do too." Delilah replied.

"Right then, what do you guys want to do?" asked Hermione.

"Just walk around, hang out, nothing in particular." said Harry.

"Speak for yourself. I'm getting food." said John.

"Of course. What else would John do?" Hermione pointed out.

"I'll join you. I'm starving." said Ron.

"No surprises there." Harry said, grinning.

John and Ron walked away from the others, looking for a place to eat.

However, eating wasn't the only thing on their agendas.

"So when did Delilah catch your eye?" John asked.

"She just got-well... hot over the summer. You know what I mean?" Ron explained.

"Yeah. Hermione did that too." said John, nodding.

"But I think loads of girls will have done that. I reckon we'll see a swarm of girls we know looking amazing this year." John added, grinning.

The thought brought a grin to Ron's face as well.

John wasn't wrong either. Just then, a group of Hufflepuff girls they recognized from school walked past them, and John and Ron's eyes followed them as they moved.

"Yep. This year is going to be great." said John.

"I agree. So, want to get an early start on all that?" asked Ron.

"Always. Let's do this." said John.

* * *

Ron and John had secured a date at Hogsmeade and a large hot-dog a piece by the time they reunited with Hermione, Delilah and Harry, who had finished the rest of their school shopping.

"So is there anything else anyone needs to buy?" asked Harry.

"Well I'd like an owl. You've got Hedwig, Ron's got Errol-" Hermione started.

"I haven't got Errol. He's a family owl." said Ron.

"Yes well I think the point is owls are useful - they deliver letters and smaller packages, so I think it's worth getting one." said Hermione.

"Well the pet shop's over there." said Ron.

"Hey Ron, since you haven't got a pet any more, you might as well get one." said John.

"No need. Sirius sent me an owl and a note saying that he felt like he owed me a pet." said Ron, gloomily.

"That's a good thing, why so glum?" asked Delilah.

"Well it acts like it's constantly on a sugar rush. It cannot stop moving, and worst of all, Ginny gave it the dumbest name known to man." said Ron.

"What name is that?" asked Harry.

"Er... Pigwidgeon." Ron mumbled.

John tried not to burst out laughing, Harry grinned, and Hermione and Delilah gave him sympathetic smiles.

"The name stuck and now that's what he responds to. I just call him pig, but it's not exactly a fitting name for an owl the size of a snitch." said Ron.

"Wow... very manly. Let's get Hermione a proper owl the size of one of her books and see how emasculated you feel." said John, heading towards the pet shop, grinning as he went.

"Yeah yeah." said Ron, rolling his eyes at John.

"My books aren't that big!" said Hermione.

"Well Hogwarts: A History is over a thousand pages to be fair." said Harry.

Hermione glared at the two Potters before following them into the pet shop.

Ron was offered some rat tonic, and had only just payed for it when something large, hairy and orange landed on his head.

"OW! What the hell is that? Arrghhh!" Ron yelled.

"Crookshanks! NO!" the store owner yelled.

Ron struggled to pull the assailant from his head, but as stealthily as it appeared, it vanished.

"What was that?" asked Ron after they left the shop.

"Either a very large cat or a small tiger." said Harry, causing John to snigger.

"Where's Hermione?" asked Delilah.

"Probably still inside getting her owl." said Harry.

Moments later, Hermione came out, holding the very same cat that jumped on Ron's head, smiling broadly.

"What? Hermione, you bought that thing?" Ron asked, incredulous.

"He's gorgeous isn't he?" Hermione replied, beaming.

"Err..." John began, looking at the massive ginger cat with a squashed face, shaggy fur and proven bad temper.

"Hermione, that thing almost scalped me!" Ron exclaimed.

"He didn't mean to, did you Crookshanks?" Hermione replied, looking at the cat as if it had become her baby.

"Weird how furry animals make educated, intelligent girls turn into dribbling wrecks..." John noted.

Delilah and Hermione heard it, but made no arguments, and simply blushed.

Smirking, John walked towards the Quidditch store, only to see a broom more magnificent than any other broom he had previously seen.

_The Firebolt_

_0-150 miles per hour in ten seconds  
Handle of pure hardened and polished Ash  
Tail twigs clipped to an exact eighteen inches  
Price on request_

"Harry... I need it." said John.

Harry wasn't in much of a position to respond - he too was gawking at the fantastic looking broom, and so was Ron.

"Funny how good broomsticks turn educated, intelligent boys into simple minded, gawking zombies." said Hermione, grinning at them.

"I don't even care. Look at it Hermione! Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?" John asked, as if he had stumbled across Shangri-La.

Hermione sighed and headed back towards the Leaky cauldron with Delilah and Crookshanks, leaving the boys to stare in wonder.

"Imagine actually using one of those..." Ron sighed, dreamily.

"It says price on request - I don't want to know how much it will end up costing." said Harry.

"True. We have good brooms anyway." said John.

"Not me." said Ron, eyeing the firebolt again.

"I'll buy you one at some point." said John.

"No you're not!" Ron replied.

"You can't stop us from doing it at Christmas or your birthday Ron." Harry countered, grinning.

"Yeah well, just don't spend loads of money on me." said Ron.

"Whatever you say." said John, unconvincingly.

Ron, rightly unconvinced, led the other two towards the Leaky Cauldron, to meet up with Delilah and Hermione.

* * *

John decided that he and Harry would share a room with Ron, something which they were excited about, but Hermione and Delilah were worried about.

"Those three in the same room, away from a place like school where rules restrict them?" Hermione asked.

"I know... I can't believe it. And they're right next to us as well." Delilah replied, her face in her hands.

"I bet it's only a matter of time-" Hermione began, before noises began coming from the next room.

"Yeah!" Hermione heard John yell.

As it turned out, they were testing out some zonko's products from Diagon Alley. Stink pellets, to be precise.

"That smells like shit... how do we cover it up?" asked Ron.

Without another word, John threw water onto the pellet, hoping it would at least begin to sort the horrendous stench out. It worked, to an extent, but the smell was still there.

"Open the window and just go somewhere else until the smell goes." said Harry.

After doing so, they went straight into Hermione and Delilah's room.

"What have you done?" asked Delilah, sighing.

"Let off a stink pellet. They really work, we're thinking of trying to somehow get them into the Slytherin common room." said John.

Hermione face palmed.

"The clue is in the name John. Of course it's going to smell bad, why would you let one off in your room?" she asked.

"We were checking just how bad it smelled, and how hard it is to get rid of the smell." said Ron.

"And what have you found out?" Delilah asked.

"It stinks like shit and it's about as hard to get rid of as a rogue bludger." said Harry.

"So essentially, you wasted a stink pellet and kicked yourself out of your own room." said Hermione.

The three boys looked at the girls sheepishly.

"So... no explanations?" asked Delilah.

"We act first and think later. Sorry." John said.

"Hey, Hermione, where's your sister?" asked Ron.

"She's with Ginny. I think Ginny's trying to get her interested in Quidditch." said Hermione.

"That's good then. There's more hope for your sister than you at least." said John, smirking at Hermione.

Hermione glared at John, but John could tell she wasn't angry.

"Okay, fine, it's true. She's going to be more relaxed than me." Hermione huffed.

"Not if we're around." John said simply, motioning towards himself, Harry and Ron, all of whom smirked at Hermione and Delilah.

"Anyway, did Ella get everything she needs for her first year?" asked Harry, trying to be the sensible one out of the three clearly not-sensible boys.

"Yes she did. I made sure of that yesterday. But on a more important subject, what about Pettigrew? What do you think he's trying to do?" asked Delilah.

"He's probably looking for Voldemort, but I seriously doubt whether he'll succeed - I don't think anyone knows where he is. Besides, Everyone's looking for Pettigrew as well, and Sirius told the Ministry that he might be disguised as a rat." said Harry.

"Yeah, I reckon he won't be any trouble to us this year. Maybe we'll finally have a normal-ish year!" Ron said, grinning.

"Don't count on it Ron, you're still friends with me and Harry, remember?" John pointed out.

"Harry and I John. How many times must I say it?" asked Hermione.

"That's up to you. It depends on when you give up." John replied, smirking.

Hermione sighed. John could be so stubborn...

* * *

The first of September came quicker than they would have liked, however, it wasn't exactly a disappointing thing to happen - Hogwarts was never dull.

However, before boarding the train, Mr. Weasley had something to share with Harry.

"Harry, could you come here for a moment?" he asked.

Harry followed Mr. Weasley to a more secluded area within platform nine and three quarters, and began to explain what he had gathered at the ministry.

"Harry, I'm not going to beat around the bush here. The ministry thinks, that apart from trying to re-locate You-Know-Who, Pettigrew might be after you." said Mr. Weasley.

"I guessed as much, but should I really be worried? Sirius said that he's a coward, and I can't imagine that he'd have the guts to try anything under Dumbledore's nose." said Harry.

"Honestly, I think you should. What if he finds You-Know-Who? You and your friends have ended up in the forbidden forest more than once, and I just want to make sure you don't do anything silly, like go looking for Pettigrew, if he returns." said Mr. Weasley.

"Why would I look for someone like him?" asked Harry.

Before Mr. Weasley answered, the train whistled loudly, signalling its imminent departure.

"I can't say any more Harry, you need to go! Just be careful. Talk to Sirius if you have any questions, he'll know more than I will." said Mr. Weasley.

Harry left, walking onto the train, feeling confused. Why would Harry want to look for Pettigrew? He was a convicted murderer, and Harry wasn't stupid. Being reckless is one thing, but looking for a mass murderer, however cowardly said murderer was something else. He decided that he'd question Sirius when he returned to England in a week or so, but until then, he had to share what he had heard with John, Hermione, Delilah and Ron.

Yet another secret that just the five of them knew about. He'd have to be careful and make sure Hermione's sister didn't find out though...

He found John, Delilah, Hermione and Ron in a compartment with a man who Harry recognized from Sirius' pictures as Remus Lupin (who was fast asleep).

"Hey guys, has he been asleep for long?" asked Harry.

"Yeah, he was when we got here." said Ron.

"OK, good, I've got something to tell you." said Harry, who proceeded to explain what Mr. Weasley had told him.

As Harry expected, Hermione was the first to respond with her concerns.

"Mr. Weasley is right Harry. You have to be careful this year, don't get yourself involved with it all, just leave it. You'll be safe that way." she said.

"I don't plan to Hermione, why would I actively look for a murderer?" asked Harry.

"Well you did 'actively look' for the philosopher's stone when you knew it could potentially be lethal." said Hermione.

"Yeah, but not because I wanted to dish out justice or something, only because I wanted to keep it out of the wrong hands." said Harry.

"Yeah, we're noble like that." said John, referring to what the five of them had done in the past 2 years.

"Well whatever the case, I'm still worried." Hermione added.

"Yeah, but Harry will always be around other people, so he should be safe." said Ron.

"That's right, didn't Sirius say that he's too cowardly to really pose a threat?" asked Delilah.

"You're forgetting that Harry just told us that he's looking for You-Know-Who. It's quite clear that he's a threat." said Hermione.

"Oh. That. Right." said Ron, suddenly feeling as if Harry was already in serious danger.

"I don't think he'll find him though. Who honestly would have a clue as to where Voldemort is?" asked John.

The mention of Voldemort's name made Ron and Hermione shudder a little.

"Honestly? No one would, so where would be begin his search? And who's to say that he wouldn't just lose the trail even if he _does_ find a clue?" Harry reasoned.

"But there's still a chance that Pettigrew might find him, so I think you should keep an ear out for any news on this." said Delilah.

"Enough of this gloomy crap, let's do something fun!" John said, rather loudly.

"John! He's still asleep, he's probably exhausted!" Hermione said, pointing at Lupin.

"True. Damn." said John.

Just as John opened his mouth to say something to Ron, the train came to a very abrupt halt. It was too early for them to have arrived at Hogsmeade station, so clearly something else was happening.

The five of them all felt a sudden drop in the temperature. They could see their breath condensing in the air, the air outside the train became thick with fog, and they could feel their bodies begin to shiver.

As if this wasn't enough to unnerve the youngsters, there was almost no light.

Just then, the compartment door slid open.

"Ron?" a voice asked.

"Ginny? What are you doing in here?" asked Ron.

"Looking for you." she replied, sounding frightened of whatever was happening.

"Guys?" another voice asked.

"Ella?" John asked.

"Yeah, it's me. Is Hermione here?" she asked.

"I'm here Ella." Hermione said, and Ella immediately sat in between her and John.

"It's OK, I don't think anything's here to hurt us." said Hermione, trying to comfort her frightened sister.

Ron was doing the same.

"Something's moving out there. Wait, there's not just one... What are they?" John was looking outside into the foggy, gloomy night, trying to figure out what was happening.

Ella let out a small whimper, and Hermione hugged her, hoping to calm her down.

"Quiet."

Lupin had finally awoken.

It became even more obvious that he was a werewolf to everyone there apart from Ginny and Ella.

His face was tired and Grey, there was a scar across his right cheek, where it appeared that a werewolf had violently raked its claws. His hair was flecked with Grey, as if he was ten years older, but looking at his face, it was obvious that he was still relatively young. Younger than thirty-five at least. His robes were tattered and old, making the youngsters feel pity for the man.

However, his eyes showed that he was completely alert, and his wand was at the ready, while his other hand appeared to be holding a fistful of green flames.

Just then, a tall figure appeared outside the compartment door. It wasn't just tall - it towered to the ceiling, which was nine feet above the floor. It's hands looked almost human... almost. They were essentially rotting humanoid hands. More unnervingly, whatever it was, it was wearing a long, ragged black cloak and hood. It was hiding its true appearance - for what reason remained a mystery.

But that was what scared them so much. Why was it hiding itself?

"None of us are hiding Peter Pettigrew here. Leave." said Lupin.

The creature didn't move an inch.

Lupin muttered something, and a white shape burst out of his wand, driving the creature away.

However, it did not stop Harry or John from feeling tremendously weakened, and finally blacking out completely, with voices from the past filling their heads.

_"Stand aside girl."  
_

_"No!"_

_"Stand aside now! Or else my hand shall be forced!"_

_"Never!"_

The female voice let out a blood-curdling scream and was silenced.

Harry and John both woke up about half an hour later, dazed and confused.

"Ughh. What... what just happened?" asked John, sitting up slowly.

"You just... sort of went rigid and fainted." said Ron.

"What was that thing?" asked Harry.

"A dementor. One of the guards of Azkaban, searching the train for Peter Pettigrew." Lupin explained.

"Did someone scream? I heard a woman screaming." said Harry.

"No." Hermione replied, looking worried.

"Here, eat some of this, the both of you." said Lupin, breaking up some chocolate and giving pieces to Harry and John.

"Not that I'm complaining, but why chocolate?" asked John.

"No one really knows why, but after experiences with dementors, chocolate always seems to help immensely. Now I'll go and have a word with the driver. But eat the chocolate. You'll feel better." said Lupin, before heading to the front of the train.

"Did anyone else pass out?" asked John, suddenly feeling quite pathetic.

"No. Ginny was shaking like mad though." said Ron, while Ginny nodded.

"There's no need to feel ashamed though. I don't know what the dementor was doing, but whatever it was, it seemed to be targeting you two." said Delilah.

Delilah's reassurance didn't make either Harry or John feel much better.

The last ten or so minutes of the train journey was spent in an awkward silence, no one wanting to talk about what happened to Harry or John.

However, everyone seemed to re-gain their energy when they arrived at Hogsmeade station, and smiles began to return to their faces.

They were home.


End file.
